‘Antebellum’ Film Review: Janelle Monáe Stars in Uneasy Hybrid of Horror and Social Commentary
Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz’s movie has a touch of ”12 Years a Slave,“ a bit of ”Django Unchained“ and a central twist that’s worthy of a bad M. Night Shyamalan film
The word that caused so much trouble for the country band that now wants to be known as Lady A isn’t a problem for the movie “Antebellum,” because the last thing the Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz drama wants to be is a romanticization of the pre-Civil War South.
In fact, it’s pretty much an attack on the antebellum world in the guise of a horror thriller — or, to be more precise, an attack on our world in the guise of a horror thriller about the antebellum world.
That makes the Lionsgate release, which was supposed to have received a theatrical release in April before that was scuttled in favor of a Sept. 18 VOD premiere, an extremely timely film. Within the thriller structure is an exploration of racism in America that manages to incorporate the social justice movement, a Confederate flag, white-nationalist conspiracy and even a statue of Robert E. Lee.
Timeliness, though, is not necessarily a guarantee of quality. For all its currency as a film that delves into central issues of our country at this point in time, “Antebellum” is also an uneasy hybrid, a movie with a touch of “12 Years a Slave,” a bit of “Django Unchained” and a central twist that’s worthy of a bad M. Night Shyamalan movie (and is, in fact, very reminiscent of the twist in a very bad one).
For the film’s lengthy opening stretch, Janelle Monáe plays a young slave named Eden in Louisiana during the Civil War (a time period that technically means the movie is post-antebellum, if you want to be picky). She’s been sent to a “reformer plantation” run by the Confederate army, where slaves are forbidden from even speaking to each other and where the brutality is casual, vicious and depicted in a way that’s disturbing but not restrained.
The movie immerses us in this world for a full 40 minutes, effectively forcing the audience to confront “America’s original sin” even if it doesn’t have the impact of other recent cinematic depictions. But it’s not just about creating that world, anyway — because all of a sudden an alarm rings, Eden wakes up and she’s not Eden at all. Instead, she’s Veronica Henley, the celebrated author of a book about Black female empowerment titled “Shedding the Coping Persona.”
Veronica shakes off her nightmare and gets ready to leave her husband and young daughter for a speaking engagement in Louisiana; for the next half hour, we watch her on the trip making a speech, dealing with casual racism at the hotel and a restaurant and meeting up with friends for dinner. All the while, slightly creepy things are happening around her — but since we’ve already seen the full horror, the vision of a little girl in the hallway who could audition for a remake of “The Shining” if she had a twin doesn’t do much more than kill time before we and Veronica head back to (post-) antebellum times.
But Bush and Renz take their time getting there, lingering both on the details of her business trip and on the quiet residue of racism that surrounds the central character at all times. “Antebellum” has a true three-act structure, but in a way that throws the pacing off; it spends too much time trying to be foreboding when we pretty much know where this is going to end up.
But we don’t know the twist along the way, which both nods to current events and also feels a little ludicrous and opens up some huge questions about that first 40 minutes. (It’s sort of surprising that of all the recent movies that play around with the idea of moving through time, this might be the one that makes you say, “Now wait a minute … ” most strongly.)
Grounding a genre movie in the history of slavery and the resurgence of white nationalism is a dark and dramatic gamble that pulls “Antebellum” out of the horror genre and into social commentary, or at least makes it an intriguing mix of the two. It’s just too bad that the execution isn’t surehanded enough to live up to the ambition.
You can watch the trailer for “Antebellum” below or click here.
All the Hollywood Films Arriving on Demand Early Because of the Coronavirus
Since most U.S. movie theaters have shuttered in response to the coronavirus pandemic, studios are rushing out VOD home releases of movies that were only just in theaters.
Disney/Warner Bros./Universal
"Trolls World Tour"
The sequel to the 2017 animated hit announced it would be available for digital download on April 10 -- the same day it was supposed to land in theaters. Now it's a VOD exclusive.
Universal Pictures
"Birds of Prey"
The Margot Robbie spinoff of 2017's "Suicide Squad" debuted on demand on March 24. The film grossed $84 million since opening on Feb. 4.
Warner Bros.
"The Hunt"
The Universal/Blumhouse horror film was first delayed from release last fall due to controversy over its violent content -- and then sidelined after its March 13 opening by the coronavirus. It's available to stream now.
Universal Pictures
"The Invisible Man"
The Universal horror film starring Elisabeth Moss grossed nearly $65 million since its Feb. 26 release in theaters. It's available to stream now.
Universal Pictures
"Emma."
Focus Features' adaptation of the Jane Austen novel opened in limited release Feb. 21 -- and picked up $10 million in ticket sales until the pandemic shut down theaters. It's available to stream now.
Focus Features
"Bloodshot"
The Vin Diesel comic-book movie opened March 6 and grossed $10 million before theaters shut down. It's available on VOD now.
Sony Pictures
"I Still Believe"
Lionsgate's biopic starring K.J. Apa as Christian music star Jeremy Camp hit VOD on March 27 -- just two weeks after it opened in theaters.
Lionsgate
"The Way Back"
Warner Bros. released the Ben Affleck drama "The Way Back" -- which grossed $13 million in theaters since its March 6 opening -- on VOD less than three weeks later, on March 24.
Warner Bros.
"Onward"
Disney and Pixar’s animated feature was made available for purchase on Friday, March 20, and the film hit Disney+ on April 3.
Disney/Pixar
"Sonic the Hedgehog"
Paramount Pictures' "Sonic the Hedgehog" set a new record for video game adaptations with a $58 million domestic opening weekend on Feb. 14 and has grossed $306 million worldwide theatrically. It's available on demand now.
Paramount Pictures
"The Call of the Wild"
20th Century Studios' feel-good film starring Harrison Ford and a giant CGI dog is available on demand now.
20th Century
"Downhill"
Barely escaping an avalanche during a family ski vacation, a married couple (Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell) is thrown into disarray as they are forced to reevaluate their lives and how they feel about each other. It's available on demand now.
Fox Searchlight
"Never Rarely Sometimes Always"
"Never Rarely Sometimes Always" is the story of two teenage cousins from rural Pennsylvania who journey to New York City to seek an abortion. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and walked away with a Special Jury award. It's available for VOD now.
Focus Features
"Endings, Beginnings"
"Endings, Beginnings," a romantic drama from Drake Doremus starring Shailene Woodley, Sebastian Stan and Jamie Dornan, opened early on digital on April 17 and on demand on May 1. It was meant to open theatrically on May 1.
Samuel Goldwyn Films
"To the Stars"
"To the Stars," a period drama set in 1960s Oklahoma that stars Kara Hayward, Liana Liberato, Jordana Spiro, Shea Whigham, Malin Akerman and Tony Hale, was bumped up to a digital release on April 24 and an on demand release on June 1. Martha Stephens directed the film that premiered at Sundance in 2019 and was meant to be released theatrically by Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Samuel Goldwyn Films
"Impractical Jokers: The Movie"
truTV's first-ever feature-length film arrived early on digital on April 1. Follow James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn, Joe Gatto, and Sal Vulvano, aka The Tenderloins, playing themselves in a fictional story of a humiliating high school mishap from the early '90s.
truTV
"Artemis Fowl"
Disney's adaptation of the Eoin Colfer fantasy novel "Artemis Fowl" was meant to debut in theaters on May 29 but premiered exclusively on Disney+. The film is directed by Kenneth Branagh and stars Colin Farrell and Judi Dench.
Disney
"The Infiltrators"
The theatrical release of Oscilloscope's docu-thriller "The Infiltrators" has been postponed, and the film was released on both Cable On Demand and Digital Platforms starting June 2.
Oscilloscope
"Working Man"
The March 27 theatrical release of "Working Man" has been canceled due to the theater closures, and the film premiered on May 5 via Video On Demand.
Brainstorm Media
"Jump Shot: The Kenny Sailors Story"
"Jump Shot: The Kenny Sailors Story," a sports documentary executive produced by NBA star Steph Curry, was made available for streaming on the new service Altavod between April 16-18 for $7.99 and is available for pre-order beginning April 9. 10% of all the proceeds will be donated to COVID-19 relief efforts. The documentary tells the story of the player, Kenny Sailors, who pioneered the jump shot, and it features interviews with Curry, Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Clark Kellogg, Bobby Knight and more.
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
"Scoob!"
Warner Bros. announced on April 11 that it would release the family animated film “Scoob!” for digital ownership and premium video on-demand on May 15, making it the second film (after Universal's "Trolls World Tour") to cancel a planned theatrical release and head straight to home release pandemic.
Warner Bros.
"The King of Staten Island"
"The King of Staten Island," the comedy starring and co-written by "SNL" star Pete Davidson and directed by Judd Apatow, skipped its theatrical release date of June 19 and opened one week early on VOD everywhere on June 12.
Universal Pictures
"The High Note"
"The High Note," the latest film from "Late Night" director Nisha Ganatra that stars Tracee Ellis Ross and Dakota Johnson, made its premiere on VOD on May 29. It was meant to open on May 8 theatrically.
Focus Features
"Waiting for the Barbarians"
Ciro Guerra's film starring Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp and Robert Pattinson was originally slated for a theatrical release but was picked up by Samuel Goldwyn Films to instead be released via cable on demand and on digital in August
Samuel Goldwyn Films
"Irresistible"
Jon Stewart's latest film, a political comedy called "Irresistible," will skip theaters and make its premiere online for on demand digital rental on June 26. The film from Focus Features stars Steve Carell and Rose Byrne and was meant to open in theaters on May 29.
Daniel McFadden / Focus Features
"My Spy"
The Dave Bautista action comedy "My Spy" was originally meant for a theatrical release from STXfilms and was due to hit theaters in March. Amazon then acquired the film from STX and will now release it on streaming on June 26.
Amazon Studios
"The One and Only Ivan"
The animated Disney film based on Thea Sharrock's best-selling children's book "The One and Only Ivan" is the latest feature to skip theaters and move to Disney+. The movie features the voice talent of Angelina Jolie, Danny Devito, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston and Helen Mirren. The film was previously slated for theatrical release on August 14 but will now debut on Disney+ one week later on Aug. 21.
Disney
"The Secret Garden"
The re-imagining of the book "The Secret Garden" was meant to open in UK theaters in April but delayed its theatrical release until August. But STXfilms will now release the StudioCanal and Heyday Films movie on PVOD for $19.99 on August 7 in North America. "The Secret Garden" stars Colin Firth, Julie Walters and Dixie Egerickx.
STXfilms
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”Irresistible“ joins a list of big films heading to digital home entertainment platforms early
Since most U.S. movie theaters have shuttered in response to the coronavirus pandemic, studios are rushing out VOD home releases of movies that were only just in theaters.